Eco Factor: Indoor plantation system helps improve air quality and office ambiance.
Statistics point out that of the total garbage generated by offices about 33% is organic waste. The Biophillic Composting System helps offices utilize all that waste in a green way that is by using it to grow plants. Designed by Cooler Solutions Inc, the system is based on the concept of Biophillia, the instinctive bond between humans and other living systems.
Eco Factor: Rainwater and humidity catching device collects and purifies water to make it potable.
Rainwater is the biggest source of freshwater, which can easily be made potable. Industrial designer Penghao Shan has tried to make rainwater harvesting simple and easy with a product known as the Water Catcher. The system comprises of two components – the rainwater catching balls and a launching station, known as the homing tray. Whenever it’s raining the rainwater catching balls are launched to collect water drops and return automatically to the base station to purify the collected water.
Eco Factor: Juice extracted from waste watermelons to be used in biofuel production.
Producing biofuel from food crops has been regularly criticized as a waste of precious resources such as water. A new research says that other than growing food crops especially for biofuel production, waste from certain food items including watermelons can be used to produce the same fuel.
Eco Factor: Lamp made from recycled zip ties.
We all buy a large number of gadgets and appliances for our homes each year and throw away all the packaging material that ends up clogging the landfills and polluting the ecosystem. Avid DIYers have always found many of those materials interesting for their new projects. Designer Charles Parsons has a similar mindset and has designed a stunning piece of art from zip ties.
Eco Factor: Batteries used in electric cars to get safe with the addition of special molecules in electrolyte.
Li-ion batteries may have given the world of electronics and electric cars what they always longed for. However, the technology isn’t fail-proof as we regularly hear laptop and cellphone batteries overheating and causing damage. Overheating in a lithium-ion battery is a result of excessive charging of one or more cells, which ends in increasing the voltage and the temperature of the battery causing them to fail.
Eco Factor: Bike house powered by solar and wind energy.
Living in a luxury home that offers the best in technology to you isn’t what everybody dreams about. There are a few people who love to live green in home which can be moved to any location at any time and that too without emitting a single gram of carbon into the atmosphere.
Eco Factor: Photobioreactor uses algae to generate fuel.
We recently showcased Emergent Architecture’s Flower Street Bioreactor that was designed to be installed in Los Angeles. The architecture firm has designed an even better bioreactor system that is being envisioned to be installed in Perth. The Perth PhotoBioReactor will use colonies of red and green algae to generate biofuel.
Eco Factor: Solar-powered cooler recharges portable electronic devices.
Picnic enthusiasm quickly turns dull if you find that your favorite drinks are turned hot as they were left in the sun or in your car. If you don’t want to go for the usual wicker basket, Picnic Cool has something much better for you. Dubbed Cooladio Solar Cooler, the device is much more convenient that an average picnic basket, and also recharges your portable gadgets with solar energy.
Though my personal approach to lawn mowing involves letting the English ivy choke out all the grass, I understand the impetus for a lush carpet of perfectly-manicured fescue. (For starters, croquet is less than ideal on the ivy; same with barbecues and Red Rover matches.) But maintaining a placid, grassy yard shouldn’t have to mean firing up the roaring, fuel-guzzling beast known as gas-powered lawn mower. Greener (often quieter, frequently cuter) machines come in earth-sensitive electric varieties.
The Black & Decker Lawn Hog ($215) is a tiny titan. Weighing in at a mere 52 pounds (that’s about as much as one of those super-sized bags of dog chow), this mower possesses a 12-amp motor and cuts a 19-inch path. A one-lever adjustment system raises or lowers all four wheels for a 1 1/4 inch to a 3 1/2 inch cutting height, and a rear-attached mulching bag collects clippings for disposal or composting. Want to mulch the lawn as you go? Simply leave the bag off and the trimmings drop to the ground. The Lawn Hog runs by electricity – in this case that means a 100-foot plug-in cord. Users have to be careful not to run over said cord, but the perks include no gas, oil or tune-ups.
The Black & Decker Cordless Electric Mulching Lawn Mower ($359) costs more than its corded companion, but with its 24-volt motor (the first in its class with the Energy Star approval), it can mow 1/3 acre on a single charge. And, for those who need more range than the 100-foot cord of the plug-in mower allows, the cord-free model offers unleashed freedom. Other benefits: The mower starts with the touch of a lever (so much more civilized than the shoulder-displacing pull cord), and the handle folds for compact storage. Even better, the product description points out, “as a zero-emissions tool, it’s not just easier to use than traditional gas mowers, it’s an environmentally friendly choice.”
Looking to spend less? The Earthwise 18-inch electric side discharging/mulching mower ($165.50) boasts a relatively low price without compromising on quality or effectiveness. For starters, there’s the no-tools-required assembly, the 48 pound weight, and a comfort V-handle grip that garnered reviewer raves. Also rave-worthy: a tester on www.electricmowerguide.com commented, “Due to this folding [handle] action, the mower can be stored underneath other tools without any wasted space!” The mower has a 12-amp motor (like the Black & Decker) and slightly less cutting area at 18 inches. Added environmental bonus: the side discharge neatly deposits lawn-mulching clippings as you mow.
Finally, a cordless option that can compete with the gas models: Neuton’s cordless electric 19-inch ($499). Pricier than its electric counter parts, this mower – with a 19-inch cutting path and 36-volt removable battery – makes short work of lawns up to 15,000 square feet. And it comes in a cheery citrus green color. At 69 pounds, the mower is still a fairly light-weight machine and can run for up to an hour on a single charge. Need more time? Just drop in the optional spare battery. Like its competition, this electric mower eliminates the need for gas and oil, folds for easy storage, and runs with out the deafening roar or the noxious emissions of gas models. And, combing the best of lawn care options, the Neutron can bag clippings, discharge them from a mulching side chute, or run clipping-free thanks to a mulching plug.
Eco Factor: Car powered by electricity generates solar power.
Industrial designer Jay Sim believes that the reasons for the failure of various ecofriendly cars were not actually in them but in the transportation system on the whole. This thinking changed the focus of the designer into designing a system for the year 2023 where his concept vehicle dubbed Urban Vehicle 2023 can operate.
Eco Factor: Marine fouling removing robot makes ships fuel efficient and fast.
The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has recently conducted tests with a unique ship hull grooming robot that removes marine fouling deposits from the hulls of ships, thereby eliminating excess drag and maintenance costs. Dubbed Robotic Hull Bio-inspired Underwater Grooming (HULL BUG) tool, the system is similar to an autonomous vacuum cleaner or lawn mower and uses a biofilm detector that can differentiate between clean and unclean surfaces.
Eco Factor: Low-cost printable solar cells developed at The University of Texas At Austin.
One of the biggest drawbacks of solar cells available on the market today is their high cost, which keeps homeowners from opting for renewable energy generation. A research conducted at the University of Texas At Austin could answer the problem with the development of a new type of solar cells, which could easily be printed like a newspaper.
Eco Factor: World’s most efficient solar cell converts 43% incident sunlight into electricity.
Solar energy is one stream of technology which sees new records quite regularly. The enormous potential of the technology has kept researcher busy in developing next-gen solar cells which convert a good enough amount of incident light into electricity. The latest news has come from the University of South Wales in Sydney, Australia where researchers have succeeded in developing solar cells that converts 43% incident light into electricity.
Eco Factor: Concept home designed to harvest natural sources for water and power.
While the world today needs self-sufficient homes and skyscrapers that don’t depend on utilities for power and other requirements, designers are also developing sustainable dwellings for the worst case scenario, where people will be forced to live on water. Folks over at FormoDesign have come with a House on the Water design, which is a self-sufficient home for nomadic life offshore.
Eco Factor: Solar-powered steam plant to aid in the recovery of heavy oils.
Solar energy is mostly used to generate green electricity for the masses. However, Chevron has found another possible use of the future of energy tech to pump oil from ageing oil wells in central California. The company disclosed the plans to use solar thermal technology from BrightSource Energy for the process.
Eco Factor: Concept device harnesses power for motion to recharge batteries.
Of all the possible ways renewable energy can be generated, motion energy seems to have the most possibilities. From using running shoes to meditation balls to generate energy, industrial designers have figured out a lot of ways renewable energy can be harnessed without making any change in a person’s lifestyle. The latest design comes from Ji-youn Kim, Jeon Hwanju and Yang Soonyoun who have designed a boomerang that recharges AAA batteries.
Eco Factor: Magnetic electricity generator generates 24KW of electricity.
Magnets have been used to generate electricity for decades, but an Australian engineer is taking the technology to its limits by claiming to have built an electricity generator that works on the principles of electromagnetism to provide up to five times the amount of power the machine consumes.
Eco Factor: Three-wheeled vehicle powered by pedals.
Designed by Randall Marin, the Triclo is a conceptual design of what a tricycle can be in an urban environment. It uses an organic form and contemporary trend to balance out in visual volume and mass. The idea behind the design was to create a tricycle with a different look to capture the attention of onlookers.
Eco Factor: Old bras to be turned into solid fuel.
Presently the world is looking for all possible sources of fuel that can be used to power our urban lifestyles. While some researchers and manufacturers have laid their bets on renewable sources such as sun and wind for power, there are others who believe that there are many things, including bras, that could be used to generate fuel.
A green lawn seems redundant, right? Short of a brown lawn (and no one wants that), what other kind is there? Yet many property owners are concerned that choosing environmentally friendly lawn products and services will leave their yards without the desirable weed-free thickness and (yes) greenness. Food for thought: Healthy grass provides plump worms and other insects for bird consumption. It also converts carbon to oxygen and absorbs air-born pollutants. Nice perks – especially since an organic lawn can do all of these things even more efficiently.
Tips for getting started with eco lawn care include choosing the right grass for your climate (Kentucky bluegrass works well in the North; Bermudagrass is a good choice for many Southern states), mow on a high setting since longer leaf surface can take in more sunlight and produce a strong root system, and mulch the lawn with its own clippings. Then, it’s on to green products.
According to The National Gardening Association, between 1998 and 2003 the number of households purchasing natural fertilizers jumped from 2.5 million to 11.7 million – often because homeowners didn’t want their children and pets coming into contact with dangerous chemicals; nor did they want to track such treatments into their homes. Woodstream’s Ringer Lawn Restore ($42.39) is a slow-release organic lawn fertilizer that encourages thick, green grass growth. A 40-pound bag covers 5,000 square feet. The fertilizer contains ingredients like poultry feather meal, bone meal, soybean meal and soil microbes; material safety data on the product reports no carcinogenicity or potential health hazards and it’s approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute.
Even the lushest lawns have the occasional uninvited visitor: Crabgrass and dandelions make the least-wanted list. Skip the scary backpack of pesticide and go after weeds with Weed-A-Tak from Natura ($12.99). The powerful spray bottle promises to take out annual weeds and grasses in a single treatment and perennials within two or three treatments. But for all that muscle (it can be used on broadleaf weeds, grasses, vines, brush and poison ivy), the organic herbicide could almost second as a salad dressing. The non-toxic, biodegradable active ingredients include citric acid, clove leaf oil and cinnamon oil.
If it’s not crabgrass threatening the yard, it’s pests. Fireants and caterpillars take a toll on lawns and gardens; mosquitoes and fleas annoy and harm the human and animal inhabitants. Deal with all of these critters with a natural pest control like Green Light Lawn & Garden Spray with Spinosad ($11.72). Spinosad is derived from a naturally-occurring soil-dwelling bacteria that is fermented. While it’s harmful when ingested by predatory insects, it has little or no effects on beneficial insects so those ladybugs and butterflies are home free.
What the Lawn & Garden spray can’t protect from is the cute-but-destructive pests known as moles, voles, gophers, groundhogs and ground squirrels. Sure, these guys make great heroes when it comes to animated kiddie movies, but in real life they can fill a lawn with holes and a garden with half-eaten produce in record speed. Gently reroute these visitors with Repellex Mole, Vole & Gopher Repellent ($49.99). The product comes in granular or liquid concentrate forms and a single application remains effective for four to six weeks. The liquid repellent is attached to a watering hose and sprayed onto the lawn (a bottle covers 8,000 square feet). The granules can be broadcast by hand or with a fertilizer spreader (a bucket covers 7,000 square feet). Active ingredients include castor oil, cinnamon oil, garlic oil and white pepper: Basically it works because the furry pests don’t like the smell or taste. Bad news for the moles; good news for homeowners, their children and pets.
Eco Factor: Bluetooth hard drive powered by solar energy.
When too much data fills our internal hard drives, we look for external alternatives. The external drive alternatives on the market only add to the power consumption of the system, but now if the ‘Light’s Reminiscence’ by Tryi Yeh becomes a reality, we could have external solid state drives that are powered by the sun.
Eco Factor: Passenger boat designed to run on hydrogen fuel cells.
While solar and wind-powered boats and ships are already being used, designers are looking for other green sources of fuel that can make these vehicles and the seawater clean. The folks over at Rayka Design Studio are working on a hydrogen-fueled passenger boat that offers speed without emitting toxic gases.
Eco Factor: Concept scooter powered by electricity.
The Scout, or Short Commute with Urban Transportation, aims to keep your short rides green and clean using an electric engine. Designed by industrial designer Vyasateja Rao, the Scout is a scooter that can be made available via a vending system, which encourage tourists and routine commuters to reduce their carbon footprint with ease.
Eco Factor: Concept flashlight powered by motion.
A lot of injuries on the ski slopes are contributed to high speed and low visibility. When on the mountains the climate can change at the blink on an eye, so you can never be sure that if you’ve started on a sunny morning, the slopes would be bright as well.
Eco Factor: Solar energy harvesting lamps for “greener” lawns.
Of all the uses for solar-powered lamps, their use in gardens and lawns seem the most interesting, and you don’t have to keep them in sunshine regularly for recharging. Industrial designer Se Xin is adding another dimension in outdoor solar lamps by allowing them to house seeds of seasonal veggies.
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